A joint seminar of the section Systematics, Biodiversity & Evolution of Plants, the Botanische Staatssammlung München and the Botanical Garden München-Nymphenburg
When? Wednesdays at 1:15pm (during the semester, unless specified otherwise).
Where? Room 109 Botanical Institute, Menzinger Str. 67, 80638 München.
Dr. Marion Müller, TUM School of Life Sciences, Chair of Phytopathology, TUM, Munich, Germany.
Co-evolution of obligate biotrophic powdery mildews with their cereal hosts
Species of the grass powdery mildew pathogen genus Blumeria infect wild grasses and cereal crop plants with a high degree of host specificity. The evolutionary history of the Blumeria species complex is highly dynamic and includes multiple host jumps and hybridization events. However, the fungal and plant genes that determine infection success of individual Blumeria lineages on their respective hosts remain largely unknown. Consequently, our understanding of the molecular basis and evolutionary origins of host specificity in this pathosystem is still incomplete. Our group therefore aims to identify and characterize host and pathogen genetic factors that determine interaction outcomes and drive co-evolutionary dynamics between Blumeria lineages and species and their corresponding hosts. In addition, fungal avirulence genes that underlie avirulence on host genotypes carrying corresponding resistance genes are major drivers of pathogen population dynamics. Our group combines comparative genomics, novel genetic assays, and experimental evolution to dissect these processes. By identifying coevolving pathogen and host loci, we aim to resolve the drivers of past and ongoing pathogen evolution.
Host: Dr. Anže Žerdoner Čalasan